Mr Daz

Anyone that accuses me of being lucky really has no idea. After getting my BMW back, taking 17 months, the bloody electric gates where I live shut on the fucker this morning.

As I drove towards them they started to shut, usually when this happens the sensors realise there’s something in the way and they stop, and reopen. Not this time. They bloody closed on my car, forcing me to reverse back out with the gate trying to take the front of my car off.

I’ve been here since March now, driving the Celica and a courtesy car and this has never happened. 2 days driving the Z3 and the sodding gates try to crush it.

I swear the car is cursed. Hopefully a bit of T-cut will sort it out, but there’s a very noticeable mark on the driver’s side front wheel arch right now. Great way to start the day!

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Today I sold my Celica, which was a big leap of faith because it means I’m having to use the Z3 which hasn’t been fully fixed. For some reason when BMW repaired the bodywork they neglected to fix the door. Why? Guess they missed it.

I’ve told RSA and they said to get it quoted on and they’d pay for it. Fine.

However today, after selling the Celica, I tried to drive the BMW. Not a frickin’ jot from it. Flat, dead, lifeless.

I called the AA and they looked at the car, performed a test on the battery and found it was leaking power. Seems the battery was completely useless and needed replacing. Also, the connections were loose which showed it had been jump started recently. By BMW perhaps to get it on the flatbed?

So I’ve just spent a further £80 on a new battery with the AA, which of course had this car been fixed in July 2006 when it was RSA’s responsibility to do so I wouldn’t have needed to. Being sat idle for 17 months takes its toll.

Guess I need to phone RSA again on Monday and get them to pay for this as well.

I hope this is the last of it, I really do.

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I arrived home today at 6:05pm to be greeted with the sight I never thought I’d see. My BMW Z3 sat on a flat bed outside my house. It has now, after 17 months, been fixed.

I’m in too much shock to post up a full review of my emotions and feelings towards all of this, and how it has affected me over the last year and a half. I’ll give a detailed summary tomorrow.

But for now, my car, my pride and joy, has been returned to me.

I need a drink.

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I had a message left on my phone this morning from Dan at BMW Bluebell. He said they’d managed to get the locks to recognise my car at last, but if I want the radio to be unlocked I have to pay £10.

£10???

Naturally I left a message with RSA immediately stating that I’d had a call from BMW and they seem to be under the misguided impression that I’m going to pay the £10 to get my radio keycode sorted, and for RSA to have a word with them.

Incredibly they did, very quickly. Seems RSA can move fast when they want to. The fact they’re paying for a courtesy car and time is very much money could have something to do with it!

As it stands now my car is ready to be quality checked and road tested so I might get it back this week. I will of course keep everyone posted on this epic saga.

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I received this cheque for £200 from Direct Line in August, but until now hadn’t cashed it. I was resentful of their insulting offer and had stuffed the cheque away somewhere, refusing to look at it.

I’ve decided now not only to cash it, but to parade it around like some trophy. I will still be pursuing Direct Line for more as £200 barely covers one month’s payment on the car they caused me to store for over a year through their error. I want a lot more than this, but I figured I’d cash it anyway.

This does after all prove they’ve admitted fault, plus their admission of fault in the letter… that helped too!

[View with PicLens]

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It’s December, which means the saga of my stolen car has rolled over into its SEVENTEENTH MONTH. That’s One-Seven, 17.

17 MONTHS!

Beat that! I’ve just heard from Royal & SunAlliance who have spoken to the BMW service centre. It appears that they’re having trouble getting the new lockset to recognise my car. They’ve been trying since last week with no luck. Surely it’s a BMW Z3? It can’t be hard to recognise it.

Well, I have a courtesy car now from the folks at Enterprise. They’ve given me a Ford Focus, hardly a replacement for a convertible Beamer, but better than nothing. It’s a good job for RSA that they didn’t give me this car when I first asked about one in July 2006. It would have cost them an absolute fortune.

In fact, it makes me wonder why didn’t they give me a courtesy car in July 2006, when they have now forked out for one? I wouldn’t have had to spend my own money on a replacement car if they were liable, which they evidently were as they’ve now admitted that. What’s changed? Maybe the power of the Internet and the bad press they’ve been receiving on this blog, but it’s a question I will be asking when all this over… if all of this is ever over.

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I’ve just had a call from RSA again about my car. Apparently BMW can’t find anything wrong with the engine and they’ve estimated to have the work finished on my locks and the bodywork next Friday. That pushes the whole thing dangerously close to December and the dreaded 17 month mark.

Obviously there is something wrong with the engine as the front left side of the car sounds like it’s grinding metal when you turn right, so if the car is delivered back to me without the work being completed I’ll just drive it straight back. I’ve a feeling this could continue.

I’ll call BMW myself later today and let you know how I get on.

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I just heard from Deborah in the Bristol office of Royal & SunAlliance. It seems the engineer for RSA isn’t going to be looking at my car today, he’s going to do it tomorrow. After all, I’ve waited 16 months why rush. That seems to be their policy. He has however authorised BMW to repair the ariel on the car and to change the lockset, which they should be doing now.

I never actually heard from RSA as to why they’ve reversed their decision on changing the lockset to my car as all along for the past 6 months they’ve insisted they won’t be paying to change the locks, then suddenly they changed their mind.

No doubt the coverage they’ve received on MrDaz.com played some part in their ‘about face’ .

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